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[Verse Fragments]


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[Verse Fragments]


Gratitude
1     The Joy that trembles in her eye
2     She bows her meek & humble head
3                           [...] in silent praise
4         [...] beyond the power of Sound.

(Mr Pope dead)
5     [...] and smart beneath the visionary scourge
6     —'tis Ridicule & not reproach that wounds
7     Their vanity & not their conscience feels
8     [...]
9     A few shall [...]
10     The cadence of my song repeat
11     & hail thee in my words.

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0 [Verse Fragments]

Metrical notation:  irregular
Metrical foot type:  iambic (-+)
Metrical foot number:  tetrameter (4 feet), pentameter (5 feet)

Notation symbols: | (foot boundary), || (caesura), / (metrical line boundary), + (metrically prominent), - (metrically non-prominent)


Gratitude
1     The Joy that trembles in her eye    
Figure:  consonance (phonological): that/trembles /t/

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2     She bows her meek & humble head    
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): her/humble/head /h/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): She/meek /iː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): her/humble/head /h/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): meek/humble /m/

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3                           [...] in silent praise    
4         [...] beyond the power of Sound.    
Figure:  assonance (phonological): beyond/of /ɒ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): power/Sound /aʊ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): beyond/Sound /n/

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(Mr Pope dead)
5     [...] and smart beneath the visionary scourge    
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): smart/scourge /s/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): beneath/visionary /ɪ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): smart/scourge /s/

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6     —'tis Ridicule & not reproach that wounds    
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Ridicule/reproach /r/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): 'tis/Ridicule/reproach /ɪ/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Ridicule/wounds /uː/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): 'tis/not/that /t/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Ridicule/reproach /r/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): not/wounds /n/
Figure:  aphaeresis (morphological): 'tis

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7     Their vanity & not their conscience feels    
Figure:  alliteration (phonological): Their/their /ð/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): Their/their /eə/
Figure:  assonance (phonological): not/conscience /ɒ/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): Their/their /ð/
Figure:  consonance (phonological): vanity/not/conscience /n/
Figure:  diacope (morphological): Their/their

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8     [...]    
9     A few shall [...]    
10     The cadence of my song repeat    
Figure:  assonance (phonological): of/song /ɒ/

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11     & hail thee in my words.    

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0 [Verse Fragments] 1 Explanatory

Title/Paratext] "When Mason copied these lines [...]" H.W. Starr/J.R. Hendrickson, 1966.

"When Mason copied these lines into CB, it seems probable that he regarded them (with the possible exception of 'tis Ridicule ...', which he enclosed in quotation marks) as by Gray [...]. That Mason intended to imply that the verse was by Gray is all the more likely since he prefaced a later extract from the Pocket-book of 1754 (CB, iii. 1111) with the statement: 'It is not clear whether this is his [Gray's] or an extract from some Book.'"

The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966, 274.

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Gratitude
1     The Joy that trembles in her eye
2     She bows her meek & humble head
3                           [...] in silent praise
4         [...] beyond the power of Sound.

(Mr Pope dead)
5     [...] and smart beneath the visionary scourge
6     —'tis Ridicule & not reproach that wounds
7     Their vanity & not their conscience feels
8     [...]
9     A few shall [...]
10     The cadence of my song repeat
11     & hail thee in my words.

Works cited

  • The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin and Greek. Edited by Herbert W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1966.

Spelling has been modernized throughout, except in case of conscious archaisms. Contractions, italics and initial capitalization have been largely eliminated, except where of real import. Obvious errors have been silently corrected, punctuation has been supplied. The editor would like to express his gratitude to the library staff of the Göttingen State and University Library (SUB Göttingen) for their invaluable assistance.

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Editions in the Digital Library

  • 1890: Gray and his Friends. Ed. Tovey. Cambridge, 1890.